Islanders hire Doug Weight as full-time head coach

Doug Weight will remain as the New York Islanders head coach. 

The New York Islanders narrowly missed the 2016-17 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After a very slow start to the season, this is a minor miracle. Back in January, the Islanders fired Jack Capuano, who had a 17-17-8 record during the season. New York replaced him with assistant general manager Doug Weight, who was named interim head coach. Under him, the Islanders had a 24-12-4 record. New York will be bringing him back as their full-time head coach.

“I’m honored to be named Head Coach of such an historic franchise with one of the most passionate fan-bases in the NHL ,” Weight said, via NHL.com. “There is a deep history of winning with the Islanders and I look forward to doing everything in my power to return to the playoffs and have success.”

The Islanders are making the right decision by giving Weight a much closer look behind the bench. Their players responded positively to him and played much better under him than they did under Capuano. However, now the Islanders face a very tough decision. What do they do with Weight’s role in the front office?

They have several options. The first is the Islanders let him stay both behind the bench and in the front office. This isn’t a horrible idea, as a good head coach has to work well with his superiors anyway. However, can Weight handle all of the responsibilities? Many coaches have tried the dual role and failed.

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Their next option is to find someone to replace him. Complicating this issue is the uncertainty of Garth Snow’s future with the team. The new ownership must decide whether or not to fire him. Dean Lombardi, formerly of the Los Angeles Kings, is on the market and has two Stanley Cups to his name. He might be an option if they decide to fire Snow.